(April 17)

——Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)——

Part of the German New Wave of the 1970’s, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is a beautiful and touching remake of the 1955 Douglas Sirk movie, All that Heaven Allows (see review for that film below). Where the original simply had a slight age and class difference between the two leads, Fassbinder takes that even further by making the difference in ages even greater and also making them of different races. I should stop here. I’m probably confusing those who haven’t read the review of All that Heaven Allows yet.

A widow cleaning woman in her 60’s stops off in a small bar to get out of the rain. The bar is mostly inhabited by Arab immigrants that immediately notice an outsider from German society in their sanctuary. The others tell one of the men, either in his late 30’s or early 40’s, that he should dance with her. He’s reluctant at first, but the two share some common bond that links them together almost instantly. He walks her home and once there she invites him to spend the night. They are very much in love, and soon enough they want to get married.

As you probably have already guessed, things don’t go so well for them after getting married. The really profound part of this movie, and what makes it truly unique from the Sirk film, is that once they get over society’s prejudices and society finally accepts them, they then have to get over their own inner prejudices. You don’t really expect that part of the movie, but it is truly honest to what would actually happen to two people in that sort of relationship. Fassbinder works with a great screenplay and amplifies all of the emotions with his camera setups. It seems like almost every shot is constructed with someone on the outside, with the others looking on or away from them. Distances between people are exaggerated. Objects are placed in front of the camera between the different parties. Everything about the film dramatizes this separation. I really loved this film. Everyone should really check it out.

(MUST SEE)

(April 18)

——Thank You For Smoking (2006)——

Some people are going to love this movie (like me). Others will probably hate it (or at least not buy into it). I think that all depends on your opinion of the films general argument, which is that to win an argument you don’t actually have to prove anything other than that the other person is wrong. Our main character in this is a lobbyist for the big tobacco companies whose job it is to put a positive spin on smoking so that more people pick it up. As his boss tells them, they have the perfect product. It practically sells itself. Except with all of the new health risks of smoking in the news, less and less people want to risk death to look cool. That’s where our protagonist comes in.

You’ve got to admire the balls of this satire. I, myself, am a fervent anti-smoker, but at times I found myself smiling and nodding my head along with his persuasive arguments. That’s not to say I agree with them, just that he argues things so well that you can’t well admit he is wrong because you can’t find a flaw with his misleading logic. That he avoids the actual issues is beside the point.

I thought this was really funny and was probably the most fun I’ve had at the theater since The Matador. Anyone who caught a trailer of this and thought it looked fun should definitely check this one out.

(SEE)

——A Bittersweet Life (2005)——

I actually watched this on a good ol’ bootleg DVD because this Korean film isn’t actually out in the United States yet. You’ve got to love those Koreans (and you’ve got to love eBay). Somehow they are managing to put out some of the most impressive cinema in the world in recent memory. A lot of it just happens to be revenge movies. And while this is no Oldboy, I think any fan of the genre will be really impressed with this effort nonetheless.

Read that title again. Read it yet? OK. I think you’ve now got a good idea of what this film is going to be like. Now let me tell you what it is ABOUT. Sun-woo is a mob enforcer. He’s good at what he does. He’s a true professional. Quiet, clean cut, kick ass. His boss works out of a posh hotel and one night Sun-woo is called down to take care of some drunks who won’t leave. That’s not his job. It’s the Korean Shemp’s job (sorry, inside joke). He of course kicks the shit out of them because that’s his job. One of them just happens to be the son of another mobster…

Meanwhile, his boss Kang asks him to watch over his younger girlfriend/professional cellist while he goes out of town. He thinks she is taking up with another guy. If she is, Kang wants Sun-woo to take care of it. Of course she is. And of course he happens to fall in love with her in the process, even though the feelings aren’t reciprocated. That’s the part I found most interesting. Normally the two would fall in love and fight the world together. Not in this movie. This is more about an empty shell of a man, like molded clay, come into his own and finally feel some real emotion. That’s the sweet part. Of course you already know that I told you that this is a revenge movie… That’s the bitter part.

I won’t spoil anymore of the plot except to say put the pieces together and you can figure out the rest of the movie. It’s a formula you’ve seen before. Some of the details are different though. Like, what happens when a guy tries to shoot people when he isn’t really that comfortable with firing a gun? Along with the beautiful direction it is all of those little details that really made me enjoy this film. Every time you expect the movie to follow the norm and zig it makes a little zag. It’s not a 100% success, but it is unique enough that I really do think this movie is worth searching out.

(SEE)

(April 20)

——Masters of Horror: Cigarette Burns (2005)——

The only thing I don’t like about this John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) helmed episode of the Masters of Horror series is the clean glossy television cinematography that just makes everything look too neat. It was also a problem in Dreams in the Witch House. Horror shouldn’t look clean, unless its cleanliness is what is suppose to be scary. Horror, more than any other genre benefits from grit and grain in the film. Somehow by making things more artificial you are making the experiences more real in your mind. It reminds you of a home movie. But enough about the cinematography. What about the film?

This is absolutely a writer’s horror film. The script was done by none other than Moriarty of Ain’t It Cool News, whose DVD blog I check quite frequently for new movie reviews, and it shows. The plot is pure movie geek. Kirby is a movie programmer whose specialty is finding rare prints of films thought to be lost for collectors. One such collector asks him to find a film thought to have been lost forever, a film called Le Fin Absolue Du Monde, which is said to have caused people to fly into a homicidal rage after having seen it. As Kirby gets closer to the film he finds out how hellish the movie is, in that it is already starting to effect him before he’s even seen it, searing images into his brain through a “cigarette burn” those little rings in the corners of film that tell the projectionist when to change to the next reel. The movie is pure evil, but will Kirby’s curiosity force him into watching something he shouldn’t?

The film is quite clever and constantly keeps you in suspense as to what the actual film is really about. Thankfully John Carpenter makes the wise decision to show as little of the cursed film as possible, instead focusing our attention on how it effects those who watch it. That makes the whole thing a lot scarier and helps them from having to make a film that can’t be made, one that actually drives you crazy. That’s the problem with the Ring. Once you see the film it’s really not all that scary. I’d check this one out if you a horror fan (or just a film fanatic).

(SEE)

(April 21)

——King Kong (2005)——

My first experience with King Kong was one of my worst movie-going experiences ever. Not that it had to be. I was really pumped to see it. I had just seen the original and thought it was brilliant and couldn’t wait to see what Peter Jackson had done with all of those new special effects. I was so excited that I rushed to see it opening night in Bennington. Big mistake. The crowd was just filled to the gills with assholes. I wanted to kill someone as I walked out of the theater. Had anyone said a word to me, I probably would have hit them. While I got some time in between the first and second time I saw it in the theater, this time with my sister at Crossgates, the wounds were still too fresh and hadn’t healed. I could still remember what stupid thing the guy in front of me said at this moment and what inappropriate laughter emanated from the stoned high schooler behind me at that moment. I didn’t have the best impression of the movie, unfortunately.

Finally those wounds have healed. Thankfully my home system is good enough to bring a little bit of that theater experience home with me. And at last I think I really enjoyed watching King Kong. Granted, it’s not a perfect movie. Everything with little Jimmy, the most annoyingly unimportant and completely unnecessary character in the history of cinema could be cut from the film, and not a thing would be missed. But otherwise, for the most part, everything really works. And I was amazed at all of the little details I had missed before because I was so angry at the ignorance of those around me. Most notably, I missed the little touch of Kong biting out the tongue of the final T-Rex and spitting it out in the middle of their fight. That was pretty cool. The special effects in this film are just astounding. Everything with Kong in it should be must see viewing for anyone who wants to make a special effects movie. It’s just stunning. Finally, this movie is for me

(MUST SEE)

(April 22)

——The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Waredrobe (2005)——

If you haven’t seen this yet then, well, you’re probably one of the four people in the world now that that’s true for. So say you haven’t seen it yet. What have you been missing? Watching Narnia again I was impressed with how well the film still stood up. I don’t think anyone expected how good it was going to be before they actually saw it, and watching it again I don’t think that was a fluke. Everything is well put together from the core out. The child actors can actually act, especially the little girl who just pulls the whole film together. The special effects are fantastic. I remember reading one review before I saw the movie that said that they didn’t believe for a second that the children were acting with the animals. That’s just crazy talk. The only people who would think that are people who don’t want to believe that a beaver can talk in a British accent. The direction is pretty spot on, too. This is just simple effortless storytelling. Nothing flashy. Andrew Adamson does a magnificent job of pulling the wonder out of every situation, not just the gigantic battle scenes but all the way down to the simple talking scenes that are the actual glue that holds a film together. It’s no wonder that this film did so great at the box office. If you are one of those people who haven’t seen it yet, I think you now owe it to yourself to give this one a look-see. My dad even made mention after watching it that he didn’t expect it to be nearly as good as it was before he started watching it.

(SEE)

——The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)——

Peter Weir is an Australian filmmaker that I have only just recently really discovered. He’s made some really impressive films though, a lot of which you’ve probably never heard of before. Gallipoli was the last one of his I saw that really spoke to me, about an Australian runner who joins up with the Army during World War I to seek glory, and only finds the horror that war brings you. Gallipoli isn’t really a battle that most people know about though, much like how the revolution in Indonesia in 1965 isn’t a news event we’re all really all that aware of.

That story is told to us through the eyes of a very young Mel Gibson playing a very young reporter on his first international detail and eager to make a big impression. At first he is lost until he meets Billy, a half Australian, half Chinese dwarf who knows everyone and sees in Gibson a caring man who could make a difference in these poor people’s lives by getting the rest of the world interested in his plight. In the meantime he meets a very hot Sigourney Weaver and begins an affair with her, only to betray her confidence and use an inside story to get a scoop, a move that doesn’t impress either Weaver or Billy. As the world starts to come apart around him, Gibson has to decide where his priorities are.

The film is intensely interesting and very well made. The DVD print quality could use a little work, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers, right?

(SEE)

(April 23)

——All That Heaven Allows (1955)——

This was my first Douglas Sirk movie and I picked up this one to watch first because I knew that it had influenced Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, which I enjoyed immensely. I’m already a fan of Sirk’s style. He’s best known for taking so-called “weepy woman’s film” melodrama and making it into serious art, and that couldn’t more be the case in this film. In it, Jane Wyman plays a recent widow looking for a new husband but unsatisfied with her options late in life. She can either marry an older man just looking for companionship over actual love, or she can accept her fate as the lonely house widow whose best friend is her television set. In walks into her life Rock Hudson, not your typical suitor. First of all, he’s a lot younger than she is. Also, he’s her gardener. Then there is the whole, What will everyone else think? thing. But above it all they develop and honest and real love for each other. It’s only when they start to tell her friends and children that things take a steep trip downhill.

What really elevates this film beyond its melodrama roots is Sirk’s rich visual style. He filmed this one in Technicolor and damned if he didn’t get every penny’s worth out of those colors. Many scenes, especially those at Hudson’s old mill, turned house look straight out of a painting. I loved how he played with the light too. One of my favorite scenes is where the two of them are standing together in his picture window with the light bouncing off of the snow outside. From living out in the country in Upstate NY I know how beautiful it looks at night when a full moon bounces off fresh snow, and Sirk captures that look perfectly. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen another filmmaker use that kind of light. It’s kind of amazing. If you haven’t already guessed, this is

(MUST SEE)

——The Hills Have Eyes (1977)——

I was a little worried that I was watching this film too soon after seeing its recent remake. Sometimes watching the remake too soon after seeing the original (this is if you haven’t already seen the original before) can ruin the experience of watching the original because you know too well what to expect. I had this experience with The Longest Yard. I’m sorry. I like the new one better. Shoot me.

Luckily I didn’t have that problem with Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes. You know why? Because the original works and the remake doesn’t. Aside from a few pretty set pieces the remake was instantly forgettable. No such problem with the original. Also, what’s the deal with crap horror movies making their protagonists annoying as hell? Why should I care about that character? The remake had a bunch of annoying, bickering family members as its main characters. The original has characters that feel more real, like a real family that would be able to drive across the country together in a trailer without killing each other. The whole point of the movie is suppose to be that one family joins together to keep the other family from killing them. You don’t get the family dynamic–in either family for that matter–in the remake.

The key though, above all other things, is that this one is scary, the other one is just gross. The suspense is built up better. The scares are more authentic and not forced. The scariest thing about this though, and this reminds me of my favorite horror movie, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is the scenes where the normally sane people go insane. The scene where the younger sister goes almost batty with joy after they blow up the trailer is just brilliant. Here is a normal girl who has been terrorized beyond comprehension and is now almost euphoric to see that she’s killed another human being. Also great is the final scene, which ends in a blood red freeze frame. In it the father is stabbing the man who stole his baby repeatedly even though the man is already dead. Never has a closing freeze frame been used so effectively since The 400 Blows.

(MUST SEE)